Liner for a refrigerator shelf



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'i957 E. B. SACHNQFF mm.

LINER FOR A REFRIGERATOR SHELF may Filed Oct. l, 1965 f l 3x.

United States APatent O f 3,320,011 LINER FOR A REFRIGERATOR SHELF Ben B. Sachnof'r' and' Myron M. Levin, Lincolnwood, Ill.,

assignors to E-Z-Por Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Florida Filed Oct. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 492,136 6 Claims. (Cl. S12- 351) This invention relates to a liner for a refrigerator shelf.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a liner which is positioned on the shelf or shelves of a refrigerator.

As is well-known, most refrigerator shelves are formed of wire mesh, spaced wires, or spaced bars or the' like. If anything should spill on one of the shelves it would drip down to the shelves below and on to the food or other products resting thereon. The shelves also get soiled and have to be repeatedly cleaned. Objects such as baby bottles which have a small base will not be firmly supported on the spaced wire or spaced bar refrigerator shelves and such bottles have a tendency to tip over.

With the present invention all of the foregoing objections are eliminated in that the liner forming this invention is positioned on the shelf to cover the refrigerator shelf so that if there is spillage it will be confined to the liner and will not drip down to the other shelves and the objects thereon. The liner also protects the shelf from becoming dirty or messy and it is relatively easy to clean the shelf by removing the liner. By virtue of the substantially flat surface an item such as a baby bottle will not tip or tilt when positioned on the liner. The liner is so constructed that it has a plurality of rectangularlyshaped recessed portions so that if anything spills on the liner the spilled material will be confined to the recessed portion on which it spilled and will not flow over to the adjacent recessed portions.

Another object of this invention is to provide an integrally formed liner of a plastic composition, which is very inexpensive and which has means whereby it is securely positioned on the shelf against sliding movement relative to the shelf.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a view showing the refrigerator shelf liner of this invention supported on a refrigerator shelf.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary top plan View.

FIGURE 3 is a view partly in section taken on line 3 3 of FIG. 2.

FIGURE 4 is a View partly in section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. l.

FIGURE 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. l, and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged perspective broken-away view of a portion of the shelf liner taken at the end thereof.

The liner generally indicated by the numeral 10 is generally of rectangular shape and is integrally molded or formed of a transparent plastic material such as polystyrene. The liner is molded to provide a body 12 with equally spaced ribs or raised members 14 extending transversely thereof. The spaced ribs 14 divide the surface or body 12 of the liner into a plurality of rectangularshaped surfaces 16 extending throughout the liner. The spaced ribs 14, as will be best seen in cross-section each have a flat top surface 18 and inclined opposite sides 20 which merge into the body 12.

The liner is provided with a continuous raised border 22 which extends along the front 24 and rear 26 and along the opposite spaced ends 28. The continuous raised border 22 along the rear 26 and opposite ends 28 has a sub- 3,326,0ll Patented May 16, 1967 stantially flat top surface 30 and inclined opposite sides 32, similar to the transverse ribs 14. The top 30 of the end and rear border is on the sarne plane as the top 18 of the transverse ribs 14. The front side 24 of the continuous border 22 is shaped somewhat differently than the remainder of the border. The front side 24, best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, is substantially semi-circular or arcuate in cross-section, as indicated by the numeral 34, and extends'a'bove the plane of the remainder of the border 22.

Extending outwardly of the continuous border along the front, rear, and sides is a continuous horizontal flange 36 which is substantially at right angles to the border. The plane of the horizontal ange 36 is below the plane of the surface or body 12 of the liner. The transverse ribs 14 extend to the front and rear borders. This divides the surface of the liner into the spaced rectangularshaped surfaces 16 which are bounded by the transversely extending ribs 14 and the front and rear borders The spaced rectangular-shaped surfaces 16 each serve keep any spilled material within the confines of the particular shaped rectangular surface. It might be said that each rectangular-shaped surface 16 forms a rectangularshaped Well, recess, or pocket, so that if any material spills onto the shelf it will normally be retained within the particular rectangular surface 16 rather than flowing or spilling across the surface of the liner. The continuous border serves to prevent the spilled material from :flowing over the edge of the shelf, thus, any spilled material will be retained on the liner in close proximity to Where the spilling took place and will not flow over the entire surface of the liner. It also will not drip down to the lower shelves.

The transverse ribs 14 and continuous rib-bed border 22, in addition to forming the spaced Wells 16, serve to reinforce and rigidity the liner. It will be understood that the liner is made of a thin sheeting and the ribs give it greater strength and body. The liners may be used to cover all the shelves of a refrigerator and may also be placed on the bottom of the refrigerator. The liner may be readily removed for cleaning and is sturdy enough to last a long time.

As shown in the drawings, the refrigerator R has a conventional shelf S supported therein which is formed of spaced rigid wires or bars. The liner 10` is positioned to rest on said shelf. The transverse ribs 14 of the liner coincide with the transverse wires TW or bars of the shelf and rest thereon, while the continuous border 22 of the liner rests over the border wire BW of the shelf. In some instances the front border wire of the shelf has a greater diameter than the remainder of the border wire and the larger arcuate shaped rib 34 of the liner will accommodate same. The enlarged front rib 34 will positively prevent any spilled material from flowing beyond the front border. The liner when placed on the shelf will Iby reason of the ribs and raised border thereof engaging the Wires or bars of the shelf prevent the liner from shifting or sliding while on the shelf, and the liner will therefore be retained in a set position.

The -liner does not extend the complete length or Width of the interior of the refrigerator but is somewhat shorter and narrower to permit circulation of the air within the refrigerator.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A liner for refrigerator shelves or the like comprising, a generally rectangular-shaped body, said body having a raised border along the front, rear and opposite ends thereof to prevent or restrict any material spilled on said liner from flowing off of said liner, said body provided with equally spaced raised portions which difp L9 vide the body of the liner into equally spaced and equally sized rectangular-shaped shallow recessed portions which provide with said raised portions a substantially at surface so that an objecty may rest partially on said raised and partially on said recessed portions without capsizing, said rectangular-shaped recessed portions preventing or restricting the flow of material from passing into adjacent recessed portions, said raised portions extending to two oppositely positioned borders.

2. A liner dened in claim 1 in which the raised and recessed portions extend transversely of the body and extend to the front and rear borders,

3. A liner dened in claim 1 in which the raised portions are ribs having their upper surfaces at and in which the spaced shallow portions have at bottoms.

4. A liner dened in claim 1 which is integrally formed of a plastic material.

5. A liner defined in claim 1 in which the spaced raised portions are `adapted to be positioned over and coincide with the transversely extending members of the shelf on which the liner is positioned.

6. A liner dened in claim 1 in which the raised border has a ange extending outwardly thereof, which flange is substantially on the same horizontal plane as the bottom of the recessed portions.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 1,255,023 1/ 1961 France.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner.

F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A LINER FOR REFRIGERATOR SHELVES OR THE LIKE COMPRISING, A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR-SHAPED BODY, SAID BODY HAVING A RAISED BORDER ALONG THE FRONT, REAR AND OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF TO PREVENT OR RESTRICT ANY MATERIAL SPILLED ON SAID LINER FROM FLOWING OFF OF SAID LINER, SAID BODY PROVIDED WITH EQUALLY SPACED RAISED PORTIONS WHICH DIVIDE THE BODY OF THE LINER INTO EQUALLY SPACED AND EQUALLY SIZED RECTANGULAR-SHAPED SHALLOW RECESSED PORTIONS WHICH PROVIDE WITH SAID RAISED PORTIONS A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT SURFACE SO THAT AN OBJECT MAY REST PARTIALLY ON SAID RAISED AND PARTIALLY ON SAID RECESSED PORTIONS WITHOUT CAPSIZING, SAID RECTANGULAR-SHAPED RECESSED PORTIONS PREVENTING OR RESTRICTING THE FLOW OF MATERIAL FROM PASSING INTO ADJACENT RECESSED PORTIONS, SAID RAISED PORTIONS EXTENDING TO TWO OPPOSITELY POSITIONED BORDERS. 